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30.11.14

For a while, rainbow-hued layered sponge cakes were all the rage. One of the earliest purveyors of the very instagram-able confection is Medz, the Mediterranean-style, Marche-like, restaurant over at Orchard Central. In addition to the "rainbow cake", the sprawling restaurant also offers up a decent array of French-inspired desserts, all of which are really pretty. But, they're more style than substance, fairly sufficing but forgettable.

29.11.14

Hai Di Lao, the famed steamboat chain hailing from China, arrived on our shores with much fanfare. Equally legendary is their ridiculously unbelievable 4-hour-long waiting time. Even if they've just opened up an outlet at 313 Somerset, the original branch at Clarke Quay requires a waiting time of at least 2 hours on good days. Unless you're dining over lunch, or anytime after 11pm. Apparently, those are the times to visit if you abhor waiting. We took a leisurely lunchtime sojourn and drove out to Clarke Quay to celebrate a friend's birthday. Another plus point: free parking over weekday lunch hours!

Because we didn't have to wait for a table, the snack and mani stations weren't opened; there was no need for such freebies to distract us from rumbling tummies. No biggie, I'd take no queue over free snacks any day!

Still, the frills
were all there; the rubber hair-ties to tame flyaways, the plastic
ziplocks to protect your phones from drips, the microfibre cloth to
clean your spectacles, the aprons to maintain your pristine clothing. All complimentary, of course.

And, the stellar service standards blew us away; this was one of those occasions where the hype was totally lived up to. Our waitress was ever so smiley, and always seemed to magically apparate to assist in skimming the scum, or help form those perfectly shaped balls of fish paste or prawn paste, or simply to recommend the must-trys in the mind-boggling array of ingredients on the iPad self-serviced menu.

Service aside, the food was excellent, albeit a smidge pricey considering that there's no cooking involved here. The ingredients were sparkling fresh, and the soup bases, the mala and chicken, were robust and rich in depth. I was never a fan of mala, as I've always found mala hotpots to be overwhelmingly spicy; the numbing chilli obliterated any other flavour.

But, Hai Di Lao's Sichuan Spicy Mala soup base was addictively good; it was layered and I could actually taste the peppercorns and dried chilli elements grounded in the chicken-and-pork bone base. The Chicken Soup ($22 for split soup hotpot), on the other hand, was sapid with the sweetness of wolfberries, earthy shitakes and oyster mushrooms, and the heady distinctiveness of half a black chicken.

The sauce station, where you get to mix your own dips from a melange of aromatics, herbs, spices and sauces.

Spinach ($3 for half portion) - be sure to dredge these out as soon as they are wilted. They make the soup bitter if they're left in to soak too long.

Crown Daisy ($3 for half portion) - or tung oh, which I hate, so my very sweet friends indulged my preferences and put these in only at the end

Although not pictured, the mashed meat ($11 for half portion) and handmade noodles ($4 for 1 person portion) are must-trys. The former because they were just delicious, like incredibly fresh prawn/fish/spinach/squid balls; and the latter just for the show.

27.11.14

This is another easy peasy 10-minute vegetable dish. To shortcut the cooking process, you can pre-cook the beans first by dumping it into a pot of boiling water for about 3-5 minutes, and draining before frying, without the water, at step 2.

25.11.14

I love pink sauce-based pastas. It's just the perfect marriage of the tart and rich. The cream mellows the bright tomato sauce, and the tomato sauce, in turn, lightens the heavy cream. This dish has just 4 simple steps, which makes it a cinch to whip up for a party. And the yummier the sausages used, the more sophisticated this appears! For vegetarians, you can switch out the sausages for mushrooms and/or zucchini.

24.11.14

When Kang first suggested going to "Ronin" for brunch, I was tickled. Having just watched 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (yeah yeah, I know, I'm a little late to the game, but I don't go to the cinemas anymore, and the dvd/blueray was only released 2 weekends ago), I was bewildered that someone would name a bistro after 'Ronan', a lesser-known comicbook villain that only exploded onto the public's consciousness after what was arguably the best movie of the year hit the theatres.

So after a hilarious, albeit lengthy, exchange, it turns out that the cafe's name is what you'd call a Japanese samurai without a master - absolutely no correlation with what the cafe is about.

Ronin the cafe is what you'd expect of just about every other coffee joint: dark, eclectic, industrial and totally hipster. The fact that the facade is completely hidden speaks volumes as to its wannabe pretentiousness. But, at least the service was warm and smiley. I'd almost expected the wait staff here all to be moody and brooding.

The menu's decidedly limited, with up to only 10 items available on any given day. Not a lot of choice, but heaven-sent for the perpetually-undecided. Please note that this is a cash-only establishment, so be sure to to pad your wallet accordingly.

The Scrambled Eggs on Toast ($9) was incredibly silky, but slightly undersalted. I've read online reviews proclaiming Ronin to serve up the best scrambled eggs on the island, but I maintain that Wild Honey retains that coveted title. Add-ons like the juicy Pork Sausage ($4.50) and succulent grilled Portobello Mushroom ($3.50) made this a much more substantive meal option.

Kang made his Scrambled Eggs on Toast ($9) vegetarian with half an Avocado ($3) and Portobello Mushroom ($3.50).

A must-try here, the Brioche French Toast ($14.50) was sumptuous; it was thick and fluffy and eggy and caramelised perfectly. This was paired with a softly braised green apple, grilled back bacon, a knob of hazelnut butter and sticky sweet syrup.

We asked for, off the menu, left to right: Raspberry Jam ($2) and Fig Jam ($2) to spread atop our toasts. These were lovely, chunky and sweet.

The Latte ($4.20), while creamy, was too milky and lacking in potency.

A better option would be the Wicked ($5.50), essentially a hot mocha peppermint. This was like drinking a liquid form of After Eights dinner mints.So luscious.

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